Chapter Three

Three days later.

The atmosphere with my boss had been weird for the past three days. He would not look me in my eyes and it had been a while since I had heard him scream my name. It was weird. I mean, I was glad that he wasn’t being as overbearing anymore. But for some reason, I knew that it was not going to last long.

And I was right. 

The following week, Dimitri Rustanov was back to his default settings. The asshole tendencies, the screaming, the making me feel like I needed to quit this job but it was my entire livelihood. I closed my eyes as he called me into his office, dreading whatever he was going to say.

I stood from my desk and walked in, making sure to keep my pace normal because I knew he was staring at me through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. I knocked slightly then I walked into the office. His gaze was already set on me. It made me feel even more nervous.

“Yes sir?” I asked softly.

Dimitri did not respond. Instead, he sniffed the air. I blushed a little. I had worn the new scent I had gotten. I had no desire to have a repeat of the scene that had happened the other day. It had been very traumatizing and I didn’t think I would be  able to tolerate another like that. 

“You changed the scent,” he said.

“Yes I did, sir,” was my response. 

“Good.”

I bit my tongue to stop myself from answering. I needed this job, and even if this man deserved a tongue lashing, I needed the job more than he needed me. There were so many other people who were qualified for this job and I knew I would be replaced within hours of leaving. So I shut my mouth and forced myself to listen to him.

“I’ll need you to collect my dry cleaning tomorrow early in the morning and drop it off at my place. I won’t come in early tomorrow and I won’t be home either. So you’ll drop it and come to work immediately. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir,” I said.

“That will be all. You can leave.”

Wow. That had been… cordial. There was no comment that would make me grind my teeth together or no screaming. He wouldn’t be winning awards for being nice but there was a noticeable change. It was comforting. 

I was happy that I wouldn’t have to come in to work early. I was tired. Waking up at odd hours simply because I had to please this man was stressing me out. I knew a lot of things were part of my job description. But sometimes I felt like he was doing a lot so I would give up and quit the job. 

The idea was tempting. 

But when I thought of the state of my bank account and finances, I dropped it immediately. I could handle him. It would make for a good reference when I left. I needed to leave on good terms with him so I could get an even better-paying job. And hopefully never have to see him again. 

The next day started off great. I had no idea that it was going to end the way it did. I went with the dry cleaning I had picked up the previous day and drove to Dimitri’s reclusive mansion. I had no idea why this man lived so far from the city itself. And why his house was surrounded by a literal forest. But I wasn’t going to ask him that. It was probably the effect of being a bored little billionaire heir.

I shook my head. I wasn’t being fair to him. This man had never made being a rich heir his identity. He had worked hard to be where he was and that was even one of the reasons why I had so wanted to land a job in his enterprise. He had worked for most of what he had and always gave his all in everything that he did. That was why working on actual projects with him was never a chore.

I parked the car and stayed inside it for a few minutes. I didn’t know why I was so reluctant to get in. There was something that just wasn’t right. I had been to Dimitri’s house before. And I had never gotten this kind of feeling. But today? I didn’t know why I just felt jittery for no reason. I sighed and got out of the car. There was no point sitting in the car and waiting around. I took a deep breath and advanced towards the front door. Then I used the key and got in.

Of course it was quiet and squeaky clean. The house was a beautiful one. But it had such an impersonal feel to it. I shivered as I got in even though it was not cold. I advanced slowly and looked around. It was so quiet. But I had the weird impression that someone was watching me. I shook off the feeling and headed towards the stairs so that I could keep the dry cleaning in his bedroom and leave. Dimitri Rustanov hated untidy areas, and I could relate with him.

I went up the stairs and shivered again. Okay this was getting creepy. I had been working for Dimitri for months and I had been in his house before. This was not the first time. So why was I getting this eerie feeling? I started walking a little faster so I could get out of there. I was someone who relied a lot on my instinct. Cause it had never done me wrong. So I was going to do whatever I had to do and hightail the fuck out of this place.

I opened Dimitri’s bedroom and shivered again. The feeling that someone was watching me had not disappeared. It was even more powerful now. I left the door wide open and went towards his closet. I opened it and inhaled his scent. I loved his scent. It was manly and attractive. I pushed some clothes to create space and started hanging up the clothes I had collected from the drycleaners. 

Then I stopped. That feeling again. Dimitri lived alone, which I found strange for someone who lived in such a big house but that was none of my business. He had not mentioned anybody being in his home that day, and he had told me he wouldn’t be home. Plus there was so much security at the gate and at the front door that I doubted anyone would be able to break in. Maybe one of his siblings was home? And that was why I felt like I wasn’t alone?

I took in a deep breath and picked up clothes and continued hanging them up, hurrying a little so I could leave. I hated the feeling I was getting and I was already very uncomfortable. I needed to leave. As soon as possible.

I let out a sigh of relief as I hung up the last of the clothes. Then I closed the door to the closet and turned. What I saw stopped me in my tracks immediately. There, standing across the room and blocking the only way out of the room was a big scary wolf. It wasn’t doing anything. It was just standing there and staring at me.

I was paralyzed for a few minutes before my senses kicked in and I screamed. Then I scrambled towards the bathroom and started opening the door to lock myself in. Before I could do that though, the wolf had already reached me and it tackled me. I tried to push it off me but it was clear that I didn’t have enough strength. Its entire weight was on me and fighting against it was useless.

But I didn’t give up. I twisted my body tried to pull myself from under it. It understood what I was doing immediately and used its heavy paws to hold me captive. I took in a deep breath, closed my eyes and lay still, tears slipping down my cheeks, abandoning myself to my fate. I flinched as I felt something wet touch my face. I opened my eyes to see that the wolf was staring down at me and it was lapping my tears away.

I frowned in confusion. Why was it not attacking me just yet? Why was I still alive? Why had it not already ripped me to shreds. I swallowed as I looked into its eyes. It seemed almost human. But that was an absurd thought. I looked away again, recalling that I had read somewhere that wolves were creatures that thrived off dominance and were likely not to hurt you if you showed submission. 

I shivered when I thought of baring my neck to this animal. But I had to do it. So I took in a deep breath and exposed myself, praying for the best. If anything happened to me, it would be Dimitri’s fault. And I knew nothing would happen to him because no one would ever know that he was keeping a wolf as a pet (was it even legal?) and that the wolf in question had attacked me and killed me. I prayed for the best and closed my eyes.

Dimitri’s POV

She was baring her neck. Fuck. Why the hell was she doing that? It was taking everything in me to control my wolf and I didn’t think I would be able to hold him off for much longer. He had a mind of his own and I had been keeping him away from his mate for way too long.

“Don’t do it, Adrik,” I said, hoping I was going to convince him.

Adrik ignored me and continued licking our mate’s neck. The foolish woman had not protected her scent and it had clouded Adrik’s mind. I could not stop him from stalking Willow and following her to the bedroom. And no matter how many times I had told him he would scare her, he was determined to go ahead with meeting and mating her. 

“Adrik, she’s going to hate us if you do it. Think of that. Stop. Let her go,” I tried again. 

Adrik stopped licking at her neck and I let out a sigh of relief, thinking that my words had gotten to him. Then he continued, but not before letting out a growl. “Adrik…”

“You’ve kept me away from my mate for too long. You won’t do that anymore,” he answered shortly, then continued petting her with his big paws.

I heard Willow whimper and I sighed. This wasn’t going to end well. With how fast her pulse was going, it was clear that she was scared. I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t go in to work or if she came the next day with her resignation letter.

“You know my reasons for doing that, Adrik. And you’re scaring her.”

Adrik stopped then he jumped off Willow. I knew he was going to let me suffer because of this. This was the first time in three months I was communicating with him and the first time in about four he was letting me change. It had been hell. He had been punishing me for not letting him meet Willow and the more time I spent disconnected from him, the weaker I got. I knew that after today, it was going to become even worse.

I watched as Willow scrambled up to her feet and ran out of the room. A few moments later, I heard the front door slam and her car start. She was definitely going to resign. I was sure of it.